Method of and means for forming baffles in boilers



April s, 1924 1,489,248

J. M. HoPwoop METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FORMING BAFFLES IN BOILERS FiledApril 28. 1.922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1' INVENTUR M R LT g wmwi ATTORNEY April8, 1924. 1,489,248

J. M. HOPWOOD METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FORMING BAFFLES IN BOILERS FiledApril 28, 1922 3 SheetsSheet 2 ATTORNEY April 8 1924. 1,489,248

J.M.HQPWOOD 7 METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR FORMING BAFFLES IN BOILERS FiledApril 28 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 OGGQ-OOC) @GOOQOGO 000":

FIG. 7 Y 7% I H II" I f II/ I J I l v LLLl ATTURNEY Patented Apr. 8,1924 UNITED stares JOHN I'IQPW'OOD, OFDQRMONT, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF AND MEANS. EOE FORMING BA-EFLES. IN BOILERS.

Application filed Apri1'28, 1922. Serial N10,,557,19.2.

1 0 all 207mm if; may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN M. Horwoon, residing at Dormont, in the countyof Allegheny and State of. Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States,have invented or discovered certain new and: useful Improvements inMethods of and MeansforForming Battles in Boilers, 0t which improvementsthe following is a specification.

By reason of the arrangementot the tubes in; horizontal water tubeboilers, as: for example, of the Babcock & Wilcox type, so that thetubes of one row will alternate horizontally with the tubes of adherentrows, great difilculty is experienced in forming baffles. It is thepractice in forming bafiles at ri 'ht angles to the tubestoemploy blocksof appropriate shape but having circular notches at the juncture of thesides sothat the block will not onlyfillthe space between four tubes(twov in one horizontal row, two in a, vertical row) but will also,partially enclose the tubes of a nest and project such a distancebetween adjacent tubes as to. contact with the edges of blocks inadjacent spaces, Because of the necessary dimensions of these blocks andthe distanceslbetween adjacent tubes, it is necessary to forcev thetubes apart in order to. place the blocks in, position and whenreleased, the tubes will spring back tolightly grip the blocks.

By reason of such construction of bafile, a tube cannot be replacedwithout destroying the blocks or some of the blocks bearing on the oldtube and inserting new blocks. after the'new tube has been. secured in.position.

And further, it is. difficult to, ensure tight joints between edges ofadjacent blocks. and as in this construction ofv baffle, there will befour jointsbetwcen blocks around each tube, :1. small leakage at eachjoint will be detrimental to the operation of the boiler.

The object of the invention is to provide for the formation of a battlebetween, the tubes of .a boiler in sections, each section being moldedin situ. It is. a further object of the invention to provide a mold orshell for the shaping of the sections, said mold being capable of beingcollapsible or distorted to facilitate its being placed in positionbetween rows of tubes in a boiler. The

and claimed.

In. the accompanying drawings forming a part of. this specification,Fig. 1 is a transverse section of the tubes of a horizontal water tubeboiler illustrating the manner of inserting. the molds between thetubes; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan on an enlarged scale showing a.portion of acoinpleted baflle and also the manner of introducing themolds; Fig, 3 is a: side elevation on. an enlarged scale of a. portionof a mold; Fig. 4 is an edge view of a collapsed mold; .Fig. 5 is anedge View of the mold; expanded; Fig. 6 isa view similar to Fig. 1illustrating the method. of forming a horizontal bafile; Fig. 7 is a,sectional plan View on a plane indicated by the line VIIVII, Fig. 6;Figs. 8 and 9 are end and side elevations. oi} the mold employed informing the horizontal battles.

In the practice of the invention a mold capable of. being so collapsedor reduced in transversedimensionsthat it may be inserted betweenadjacent diagonal rows of tubes.

as shown in Fig. l is slid diagonally to its posit-ion longitudinallyand then if necessary to attain its proper transverse position, the moldis turned axially until its. sides are at right angles to. orapproximately so to the tubes, as shown tothe right in Fig. 2. In theconstruction shown in, Figs. 1 to 6, the edges. of the mold, are formedwith circular notches: formed, on arcs or circles having radii equal to.those of the tubes, for the reception of the tubes. when the mold is inposition. After the mold has been adjusted to, position it is expandedforcing the side walls apart and the mold, filled with suitable plasticrefractory material. a After section of the baffle has been formed,other sections areforlned in a similar manner. While each mold, sectionmay be; charged, with the ret-ractory material beforeanother is placedin position, itis preferred that all themolds should be placed inposition, and that the refractory material be charged into alternatemolds. hen the material; is forced into a mold, it will. cause a bulgingof the edge wallsas at o and when the succeeding mold'is charged, itsedge wall will. be caused to conform. with the convex surfaces of thepreviously charged mold as shown, in Fig. 2.

While the invention is not limited as regards its broad features, theuse of any specific construction of mold whereby it may be collapsed orotherwise distorted for insertion between the tubes, the constructionshown has been found to be well adapted for building up of baffles asdescribed. The mold or shell has its side walls 1 comparatively stiff,but not necessarily rigid, whilethe opposite walls 2 are flexible topermit of the side walls being moved inward towards each other. Inpractice, the walls 1 are preferably made of heavy and comparativelystiff paper or other suitable material. Circular notches 3 are formed inthe edges of the sides 1 for the reception of the tubes of the boilerand the sides are made of such widths that the portionstintermediate thenotches will project suitable distances between adjacent tubespreferably distances-equal to one-half the diameter of the tubes.

The lower end of the mold or shell is closed with flexible materialcorresponding in character to that forming the edge walls 2. The upperend 5 of the shell is made of any suitable shape to facilitate theattachment of a nozzle for forcing in air for expanding the shell andfor charging the latter with the refractory material.

WVhen building a baffle, the mold or shell is collapsed, the side walls1 being pressed together and the flexible edge walls folding in, asshown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. The collapsed mold is then pushed in betweenadj acent diagonal rows of tubes, its sides 1 being parallel with thetubes, or sufficiently so to permit of the easy insertion of the shell.After the mold or shell has reached the desired longitudinal position,it is rotated axially through an arc of ninety degrees in which movementthe portions intermediate the notches will pass between adjacent tubesand the latter be partially enclosed. In its collapsed or folded shape,the side walls 1 will be nearly in contact so that there will be littledifficulty in thus turning the shell, but all difficulty will be avoidedby making the walls resilient and capable of being flexed transversely.After being turned to a position at right angles to the tubes, the shellor mold is subjected to internal pressure to force the side walls apart,such expansion being effected by air pressure before the refractorymaterial is charged into the mold, or by forcing the refractory materialinto the molds.

If desired, reinforcing rods 6 may be incorporated in the sections said.rods being placed in position either before or after the molds or shellsare charged with the plastic material. These rods in addition tostrengthening the sections may by extending their ends beyond the bafiiesections, serve to support deflecting walls above or below the tubes. a

While it is preferred to make the side asaaas walls of the mold orshell, when forming vertical baflles, comparatively stifl' but capableof some degree of flexure, as such stifl portions facilitate the placingof the molds when forming vertical baflles or baffles at right angles tothe tubes, the entire walls may be made flexible. Such construction, i.e., all parts of the mold flexible, is especially desirable in forminghorizontal baflles or baffles parallel with the tubes as shown in Figs.6 and 7. In forming the horizontal bafile it is preferred that the moldor shell 7 should be of a comparatively heavy fabric, such as canvas,and of a length equal to the desired length of battle, or a fraction ofsuch length. In order to facilitate the placing of the mold or shell inposition, it may be partially inflated and hence if formed of porousmaterial, a thin coat of paint may be applied to the surface of thematerial or it may be rendered impervious under light pressures in anyother suitable manner. When thus inflated, the mold is passed laterallyto the space between the nest of tubes 6, which it is designed tooccupy, and allowed to rest on the lower tube. Refractory material in asemi-fluid or plastic condition is then forced into the mold or shellcausing it to expand and take a comparatively broad bearing on thetubes.

It will be understood that the exposed portions of the mold or shellwill be burned away but the portions between the tubes and refractorymaterial and the portions between contiguous parts of the refractorymaterial will be charred and remain positive as a seal for the joints,until a tube is removed. It will be readily understood that in removinga tube the charred material will be scraped away and the opening throughthe bafile will be slightly larger than the tube so that a new tube canbe easily inserted. Hence it is preferred to make the edge walls 3 ofthe form of mold shown in Figs. 1 to 6 of comparatively thick butflexible material I claim herein as my invention:

1. The method herein described of forming bafiles in boilers, whichconsists in forming the bafiie in sections, each section being shaped inposition in the boiler.

2. The method herein described of forming baffles in boilers, whichconsists in placing a series of molds or shells, each having the shapeand dimensions of a portion of the baffle, in position between the tubesof the boiler, and then filling such mold or shell with a suitablematerial.

A. shell or mold. having normally the shape and dimensions of a sectionof a baffle and adapted to be collapsed or distorted to permitof itsbeing inserted between the tubes of a boiler.

4. A shell or mold consisting of side and edge walls, two of said wallsbeing comparmesses g atively stiff and the other Walls flexible, havingtheir edges notched, and having the the side walls having a widthsubstantially edge walls formed of flexible material to equal to thedistance between centers of permit of the side walls being shifted 10tubes in adjacent rows, and notched to fit towards and from each other.5 around the tubes of adjacent rows. In testimony whereof, I havehereunto set 5. A shell or mold having side walls my hand. formed ofcomparatively stiff material and JOHN M. HOPVVOOD.

